Combination of urinal and hand washing facility

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility. Therein, the waste water from the hand washing facility is used for flushing the urinal. The hand washing facility and the urinal are in close proximity to each other and/or in physical contact with each other. The hand washing facility is offset relative to the urinal so that the imaginary plane as defined by the center plane miming vertically through the urinal is positioned at an offset angle relative to the imaginary plane as defined by the central vertical plane of the hand washing facility. Said angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°.

The present invention relates to a combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility. Therein, the waste water from the hand washing facility is used for flushing the urinal. The hand washing facility and the urinal are in close proximity to each other and/or in physical contact with each other.

The hand washing facility is offset relative to the urinal so that the imaginary plane as defined by the center plane running vertically through the urinal, i.e. from top to bottom—preferably the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane defined by the outlet/opening for flushing the urinal and the discharge opening of the urinal—is positioned at an angle relative to the imaginary plane as defined by the center plane running vertically through the hand washing facility—preferably the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane defined by the faucet and the drain of the hand washing facility—wherein said offset angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, preferably between 40° and 60°.

Preferably, said imaginary vertical (symmetry) planes of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively, coincide with the direction of use by a user of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively. As a result, the orientation of a user in regard to the urinal is offset relative to the orientation of a user in regard to the hand washing facility wherein said offset angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, preferably between 40° and 60°.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, two or more of said combinations of a urinal and a hand washing facility are used in a restroom, preferably in a public restroom.

Preferably, the combination according to the present invention is used in private restrooms, in particular private restrooms in transportation devices, in particular RVs, camping wagons, busses, or in maritime applications, in particular on boats or other vessels. Preferably, the combination according to the present invention is also used in public restrooms, wherein the public restroom is selected from the list comprising: public transportation venues, e.g. railroad stations, airports or highway restroom facilities; large vessels or boats, hotels, restaurants, conference facilities; public buildings, in particular museums, exhibitions, movie theatres, art houses, government buildings, schools, universities.

BACKGROUND

A combination of a hand washing facility with a urinal is known from the art, in principle. For example, German utility model DE 200 07 812 discloses a combination of a hand washing facility with a urinal that is characterized by a single water inlet (the faucet of the hand washing facility) and a combined discharge for the waste water from both the hand washing facility and the urinal. According to DE 200 07 812, the hand washing facility is arranged directly above the urinal, i.e. the direction of use for the hand washing facility coincides with the direction of the use for the urinal.

A similar combination of “self-flushing” urinal and hand washing lavatory fixture can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,546. Therein, the hand washing facility is also arranged directly above the urinal.

Another combination of a hand washing facility and a urinal of the integral type with the hand washing facility being arranged directly above the urinal is disclosed in utility models G 94 13 046 and DE 298 10 298.

An alternative embodiment of a combination of a hand washing facility and a urinal (together with a water storage facility) is disclosed in DE 197 04 452. The facility disclosed therein is meant to be installed in a guest bathroom of a house using the inlet and discharge plumbing already present in such a guest bathroom. In addition to the integral arrangement of a hand washing facility directly above a urinal, an alternative embodiment is also disclosed showing the hand washing facility arranged perpendicular to the urinal (see FIGS. 4 and 5 of DE 197 04 452).

A common problem of all known embodiments of a water-saving combination of urinal and hand washing facility is that the geometry is such that the direction of use for the urinal and the direction of use for the hand washing facility coincide, i.e. the user remains in the same position for using urinal as for using the hand washing facility. While this may be a suitable and acceptable geometry for use in a private bathroom or in a guest bathroom, this setting is not acceptable for a public restroom in which urinals will typically get soiled and, the least for hygienic reasons, a potential user of urinal will not be inclined to use the hand washing facility while being potentially in proximity or even physical contact to the urinal. In a public setting there is also a certain psychological barrier that would seem to prevent a user from using a hand washing facility that is placed in too close (psychological) proximity to the urinal. These actual and physical barriers of the “hand-washing-facility-above-the-urinal” embodiments of the prior art pose obstacles to a commercialization of the same.

Similarly, a geometric arrangement in which the hand washing facility is in a certain proximity to the urinal and arranged perpendicular to the urinal is not acceptable in a public restroom since this would mean that the user of the hand washing facility of one combined unit of hand washing facility and urinal would have a full view of a second user using the urinal of a second combined unit of hand washing facility and urinal. Such a geometric arrangement is seen as unacceptable for potential users of a public restroom.

Based on the problems discussed above in regard to the prior art for a water-saving combination of urinal and hand washing facility, an object according to the present invention is to provide a setting comprising urinal and hand washing facility that is water-saving and will be acceptable to potential users of public restrooms.

These objects and others are solved by a combination of a urinal and a hand washing facility in accordance with claim 1.

Therein, the present invention relates to a combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility. The waste water from the hand washing facility is used for flushing the urinal. The hand washing facility and the urinal are in close proximity to each other and/or in physical contact with each other.

The hand washing facility is offset relative to the urinal so that the imaginary plane as defined by the center plane running vertically through the urinal, i.e. from top to bottom—preferably the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane defined by the outlet/opening for flushing the urinal and the discharge opening of the urinal—is positioned at an angle relative to the imaginary plane as defined by the center plane running vertically through the hand washing facility—preferably the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane defined by the faucet and the drain of the hand washing facility—wherein said offset angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, preferably between 40° and 60°.

Preferably, said imaginary vertical (symmetry) planes of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively, coincide with the direction of use by a user of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively. As a result, the orientation of a user in regard to the urinal is offset relative to the orientation of a user in regard to the hand washing facility wherein said offset angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, preferably between 40° and 60°.

Preferred embodiments of said combination of hand washing facility and urinal are given in the dependent claims.

It is noted that in public restrooms for male users as presently provided, for example, in public transportation venues, e.g. railroad stations, airports or highway restroom facilities; hotels, restaurants, conference facilities; public buildings, in particular museums, exhibitions, movie theatres, art houses, government buildings, schools, universities and the like, a large number of urinals are provided in one room, for example more than five or more than ten, or even more than twenty, while a similar or somewhat lower number of hand washing facilities, are provided in a separate room. A significant cost-saving effect can be achieved if these presently existing separated units are replaced by the combinations of hand washing facility and urinal according to the present invention. In addition to the water-saving effect, a cost-saving effect in regard to space (that needs to be cleaned) and plumbing (that needs to be maintained) is achieved in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility, wherein the offset angle between the imaginary vertical (symmetry) plane running through the urinal from top to bottom relative to the imaginary vertical (symmetry) plane running through the hand washing facility from top to bottom is about 45°. In this embodiment, urinal and hand washing facility are in immediate physical contact with each other and are realized as two separate units that can be exchanged separately.

FIG. 2 shows an arrangement of three combinations of urinal and hand washing facility as shown in FIG. 1 in a public restroom setting (computer animation) illustrating the principle of the invention according to which the field of view of a user of the hand washing facility of one unit does not coincide with the field of view of potential users of adjacent urinals.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a combination of hand washing facility and urinal, wherein the hand washing facility is not in immediate physical contact with the urinal but separated from said urinal by a spacing unit comprising a faucet. In addition, this embodiment shows how mirror, paper dispenser and soap dispenser can be advantageously integrated into the inventive setup.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment, in which four combination units of urinal and hand washing facility are arranged, for example, around a column.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment in accordance with the present invention, wherein the urinal and the hand washing facility are provided in one integral unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The urinal of the present invention is to be understood to be any container or receptacle that is suitable for receiving urine. No limitations exist in regard to the shape and/or the materials of said urinal.

Preferably, said urinal is suitable for being mounted onto a wall and comprises suitable plumbing.

The urinal preferably comprises at least one opening or outlet or orifice through which water can be dispensed onto the inside of the urinal, i.e. the area that is exposed to the urine. In accordance with the present invention, said opening or orifice is also referred to as “opening/outlet for flushing the urinal”.

In accordance with the present invention, at least part of the liquid used to flush the urinal is waste water from the hand washing facility of the present combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility.

In one embodiment of the present invention, water from other sources than from said hand washing facility may be used in addition to waste water from said hand washing facility. It is also in the scope of the present invention that this at least one additional source of water is a fresh water source.

The present invention also relates to an embodiment in which waste water from the hand washing facility is stored in a storage device prior to being dispensed into the urinal.

Preferably, any dispensing process of water into the urinal, be it with waste water from the hand washing facility alone or waste water from the hand washing facility mixed with other water sources and/or (waste) water from a storage unit, is controlled by means of a control unit, for example a central processing unit, a timer, a central control unit or any other conceivable controller.

The urinal of the present invention also has at least one discharge unit suitable for discharging urine and any (waste) water used for flushing the urinal.

In accordance with the present invention, the urinal has one imaginary plane that is defined by the center plane running vertically through the center of the urinal, i.e. from top to bottom. Preferably said plane is the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane defined by the outlet/opening for flushing the urinal and the discharge opening of the urinal.

Preferably, said plane is perpendicular to the intended positioning (imaginary line through shoulders and head) of a user of the urinal. For a symmetrical urinal, said imaginary plane of the urinal coincides with the vertical symmetry plane that would be, in this case, a mirror plane (see, for example, FIG. 1).

A similar imaginary vertical plane can be defined for the hand washing facility. In accordance with the present invention, said imaginary vertical plane runs through the center of the hand washing facility—preferably the vertical symmetry plane and/or the vertical plane are defined by the faucet and the drain of the hand washing facility.

Preferably, said imaginary vertical (symmetry) planes of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively, coincide with the direction of use by a user of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively,

In accordance with the present invention, the urinal and the hand washing facility are offset relative to each other as defined by an offset angle between the vertical (symmetry/center) plane of the urinal and the vertical (symmetry/center) plane of the hand washing facility, wherein said angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, further preferably between 40° and 60°. As a result of this geometry, the orientation of a user in regard to the urinal is offset relative to the orientation of a user in regard to the hand washing facility wherein said offset angle is between 20° and 80°, preferably between 30° and 75°, further preferably between 40° and 70°, further preferably between 40° and 60°

The hand washing facility in accordance with the present invention comprises at least one dispensing unit for dispensing fresh water, preferably a faucet. Said hand washing facility furthermore comprises at least one discharge unit for discharging the spent water that is collected in a container/receptacle of the hand washing facility.

In accordance with the present invention, the waste water and/or freshly dispensed water from the dispensing unit is directed from said discharge unit of the hand washing facility to the opening/outlet for flushing the urinal.

Preferably, the natural pull of gravity is used to transport the waste water from the hand washing facility through the discharge unit of the same to the opening/outlet for flushing the urinal. In another embodiment, a pump or a pumping means may be used, in addition to or instead of the gravitational pull, to transport water from the discharge unit of the hand washing facility to the opening/outlet for flushing of the urinal. Preferably, a combination of gravitational pull and a pump is used.

As already mentioned above, in order to flush the urinal, in addition to waste water from the hand washing facility (or freshly dispensed water running through the hand washing facility), the plumbing of the urinal may be arranged so that also fresh water from a separate fresh water line/source is added for flushing the urinal via the opening/outlet. Said fresh water may also be run through the hand washing facility at times no user uses said hand washing facility.

In accordance with the present invention, two or more such openings/outlets for flushing the urinal may be provided, for example two openings/outlets on opposite sides of the urinal, to more thoroughly flush the inside of the urinal. Preferably, one or more or all of these two or more openings/outlets are connected with the discharge unit of the hand washing facility.

In accordance with the present invention, the waste water from the hand washing facility is discharged through the discharge unit of the hand washing facility via the urinal through the discharge unit of the urinal.

No limitations exist in regard to the shape, geometry or materials of the hand washing facility.

In one embodiment, the hand washing facility is arranged adjacent to the urinal but not in direct (or immediate) physical contact with the same. However, in this embodiment, the waste water (or freshly dispensed water from the faucet) of the hand washing facility is still directed, for example via separate plumbing, from the discharge unit of the hand washing facility to the opening/orifice for flushing the urinal.

In case the hand washing facility is not in direct (or immediate) physical contact with the urinal, it is preferred that the distance between the two outer surfaces of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively, that are the closest to each other is not more than 40 cm, preferably not more than 30 cm, further preferably not more than 20 cm, further preferably not more than 10 cm, further preferably not more than 5 cm.

In another embodiment, the hand washing facility and the urinal are adjacent to each other but not in direct physical contact, and are separated from each other by another unit, for example a separation unit that may, preferably, comprise the faucet. An embodiment in which a spacing unit is arranged in between the urinal and the hand washing facility is shown in FIG. 3. Therein, the faucet is not part of the hand washing facility but part of said spacing unit. Such an arrangement may be seen as particularly advantageous for emphasizing the separation between urinal and hand washing facility.

In one embodiment of the present invention, two or more, further preferably four or more, further preferably five or more, further preferably eight or more, further preferably ten or more of the combination units of urinal and hand washing facility and urinal are placed next to each other in the same room. An example of such a preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 2.

Placing a plurality of combination units of urinal and hand washing facility next to each other would be a typical setting in a public restroom, for example in airports, train stations, government buildings, office buildings, schools, universities, restaurants, cultural venues, sports stadiums and the like.

One particular advantage of the geometry of the present invention, i.e. the staggering or “off-setting” of the hand washing facility (which is nevertheless adjacent to the urinal) relative to the urinal allows to place a plurality of these units next to each other, without having to provide physical boundaries between the same, for example walls or screens, since the field of view of a person using the urinal does not coincide with field of view of a potential user of an adjacent urinal while, at the same time, the field of view of a person using the hand washing facility does not coincide with the field of view of a potential user of the urinal of another (adjacent) unit. The respective fields of view severely cross in case the urinal and the hand washing facilities are arranged at a 90° angle relative to each other in such an array of a plurality of combination units.

While it is not required, it is in accordance with the present invention, to provide screens or walls between two or more combination units of urinal and hand washing facility.

In fact, in a preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, two, three, four or more, preferably four, combination units of urinal and hand washing facility are arranged around a column, pole or post.

In one embodiment according to the invention, urinal and hand washing facility are provided as two separate building units that can be exchanged or replaced independently from each other (see, for example, FIG. 1). This embodiment has the advantage of flexibility, superior design possibilities and ease of maintenance/repair.

In an alternative embodiment, urinal and hand washing facility are provided as an integral unit (see FIG. 5). While this arrangement is less flexible (i.e. if either the urinal or the hand washing facility is defective, the entire unit needs to be replaced), however, said arrangement is cheaper to manufacture and easier to install. In a preferred embodiment, such integral unit is made from one main material, in particular a ceramic material or a plastic material or a composite material. It is particular preferred that such an integrated unit is cast or extruded or pressed.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a sensor is provided in the urinal, which detects the onset and/or the end of a urination process. Preferably, once the sensor and pertinent control unit have determined that the urination process is finished, for example after a certain predetermined time interval after the last sensing of urine inflow, the water dispensing of the hand washing facility, preferably through the faucet, is automatically initiated.

As has already been outlined above, the flushing of the urinal and/or the operation of the water dispensing unit of the hand washing facility is preferably subject to at least one control unit. Said control unit preferably comprises at least one sensor.

A suitable sensor would be, for example, a sensor for liquids, a weight sensor, a sensor for urea, a pressure sensor and/or a water level sensor. In one example, the sensor permanently detects influx of urine and sets a certain internal trigger after, for example, three or more seconds of urine influx. A second signal may be triggered, after the triggering of the first signal, in case no influx of urine is detected for a certain period of time, for example for three seconds. In case both signals have been triggered, a control unit then starts the dispensing of fresh water in the hand washing facility, preferably, by operating the faucet of the hand washing facility, thus enticing or facilitating the washing of hands by the user of the urinal. Preferably, there is a sufficient time offset between the detection of the termination of the urine influx and the dispensing of water. Further preferably, said “automatic” dispensing of water is stopped after a predetermined time interval, for example five seconds.

Preferably, in addition to this preferred embodiment of automatic water dispense triggered by a use of the urinal, the hand washing facility also has a sensor for starting the dispensing process of water as is common for modern hand washing facilities. Thereby, usage of the hand washing facility is also possible without using the urinal.

The preferred embodiment of triggering the dispensing of water by usage of the urinal has the added advantage of increased hygiene since the user of the urinal is enticed to wash his hands.

In regard to all embodiments of the present invention, the combination unit of urinal and hand washing facility in accordance with the present invention has the following advantages over urinals and hand washing facilities known from the art, in particular urinals used in a public restroom setting.

First, due to the recycling of the waste water from the hand washing facility for flushing the urinal, a significant amount of water can be saved. This has obvious benefits both in regard to cost savings for the operator of the restroom and in terms of conserving the environment and the scarce resources of this planet. In this context, it is noted that a common water-saving urinal solution is the so-called “waterless” urinal or chemical urinal in which no or only intermittent flushing occurs. While this obviously leads to water-saving in respect to the urinal, this set-up has the disadvantage of not providing a flushing operation which may lead to odor problems. Masking odor with chemicals, however, is in contrast to the goal of saving resources. Also, the waterless urinal does not save or reuse the water from the separate hand washing facility The present invention provides the same water-saving effect as the so-called waterless urinals, however, has the added advantage of flushing the urinal thus allowing to cut or dispense the use of chemicals to deal with odor and other issues relevant for the hygiene of a urinal.

Second, the combination unit of urinal and hand washing facility of the present invention provides the potential for considerable space saving since less hand washing facilities need to be provided in the public restroom overall (hand washing facilities still need to be provided for the toilets also provided in the restroom).

Third, the set up of the present invention also minimizes the plumbing needed and therefore the operation and maintenance costs for the restroom.

Fourth, and possibly most importantly, the specific geometry of the present invention allows, for the first time, to provide a large number of combination units of urinal and hand washing facility in a public restroom setting since the users will experience the same (semi)privacy they expect from public restrooms with separated urinals and hand washing facilities. 

1. The combination of a urinal with a hand washing facility, wherein the waste water from the hand washing facility is used for flushing the urinal, and wherein the hand washing facility and the urinal are in close proximity to each other and/or in physical contact with each other, characterized in that said hand washing facility is offset relative to said urinal so that a first imaginary plane, as defined by a center plane running vertically through the urinal, from top to bottom, is positioned at an angle relative to a second imaginary plane as defined by a center plane running vertically through the hand washing facility, wherein said offset angle is between 20° and
 80. 2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein the urinal comprises at least one opening or outlet or orifice through which water can be dispensed onto an inside surface of the urinal that is exposed to the urine, and wherein said water comprises or is waste water from the hand washing facility, optionally together with water from a fresh water source.
 3. A combination according to claim 1, wherein waste water from the hand washing facility is stored in a storage device prior to being dispensed into the urinal.
 4. A combination according to claim 1 wherein any dispensing of water into the urinal is controlled by means of a control unit, a central processing unit, a timer, a central control unit or any other controller.
 5. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the hand washing facility comprises at least one dispensing unit for dispensing fresh water, and wherein said hand washing facility furthermore comprises at least one discharge unit for discharging the spent water that is collected in a container/receptacle of the hand washing facility, the spent water then being the waste water for flushing the urinal.
 6. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the natural pull of gravity is used to transport the waste water from the hand washing facility, through the discharge unit of the same, to the opening or orifice or outlet through which water can be dispensed onto the inside of the urinal, optionally together with a pump.
 7. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the hand washing facility is in direct or immediate contact with the urinal, or wherein the distance between the two outer surfaces of the urinal and the hand washing facility, respectively, that are the closest to each other, is not more than 40 .
 8. A combination according to claim 1 wherein the hand washing facility and the urinal are separated by at least one spacing unit.
 9. A combination according to claim 1 wherein urinal and hand washing facility are provided as two separate building units that can be exchanged or replaced independently from each other.
 10. A combination according to claim 1, wherein urinal and hand washing facility are provided as an integral unit.
 11. A combination according to claim 1 wherein a sensor is provided in the urinal, which detects the onset and/or the end of a urination process.
 12. A method of using at least two of the combinations of urinal with hand washing facility according to claim 1 in one room of a public restroom.
 13. A method according to claim 12, wherein a location of the public restroom is selected from the list comprising: public transportation venues, railroad stations, airports, highway restroom facilities, hotels, restaurants, conference facilities, public buildings, museums, exhibition venues, movie theatres, art houses, government buildings, schools, universities.
 14. A method according to claim 12, wherein at least two combination units of urinal and hand washing facility are arranged around a column, pole or post.
 15. A method of using at least one combination of urinal with hand washing facility according to claim 1 in a private restroom, a private restroom in a transportation device, an RV, a camping wagon, a bus, maritime applications, boats or other seaborne vessels.
 16. A combination according to claim 1 wherein said offset angle is between 30° and 75°.
 17. A combination according to claim 1 wherein said offset angle is between 40° and 70°.
 18. A combination according to claim 1 wherein said offset angle is between 40° and 60°.
 19. A method according to claim 12 wherein at least four combination units of urinal and hand washing facility are arranged around a column, pole or post.
 20. Use according to claim 12 wherein at least eight combinations of urinal with hand washing facility are arranged in one room of a public restroom. 